Free software is simply software that respects our freedom — our freedom to learn and understand the software we are using. Free software is designed to free the user from restrictions put in place by proprietary software, and so using free software lets you join a global community of people who are making the political and ethical assertion of our rights to learn and to share what we learn with others.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Open Source Project to Get Gadgets Talking Via the Net

BBC News (08/10/12) Zoe Kleinman

More than 5,400 developers have downloaded Webinos, an open source operating system developed with the support of more than 30 organizations that is designed to enable digital devices to communicate with each other. The developers are exploring ways Webinos could be employed to link a wide range of devices, including mobile phones, car stereos, heart monitors, and TVs. "People want to control the technology because if you control the technology you control the money," says Webinos technical coordinator Nick Allott. "But it should be free and open to everybody." He notes Webinos is designed to function as an alternative to the proprietary systems from Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla. Webinos runs on personal computers and Android-operated mobile devices. BMW, the World Wide Web Consortium, Sony, Samsung, and Telefonica are among the $18.4 million project's technical partners. The developers say a major advantage to Webinos is the fact that users have total control over who has access to the data. Allott notes that so far people in 155 countries have accessed the Webinos Web site.